For actual woods problem I would go with a heavier caliber semi auto. Longer the barrel the better for more velocity and deeper penitration with a double stack magazine.
When thing go bad every thing goes by very quickly and your shootingvwill be all over the place. The more bullet capacity the better. Look how many shoots cops take when things go down and how many hits they actually hit the intended target.
One of my friends wife hit a deer with her full size van and crippled the deer, broke the deers back right by the back hips.
Called 911, Sherrif comes, shoot a full.magazine at the deer.
Put one bullet through an antler, one bullet through an ear another in the gut sack.
Second magazine about the third shot finely connected and killed the deer.
In my oppinion this should of been a low preasure use of a firearm and should of only required aone shot, maybe two.
When bad things happen fast you shooting will SUCK.
Don't limit yourself to five or six shots in a revolver. I use to csrry a 357mag or a 44ma revolver and went out and bought a Glock 20 in 10mm with the fifteen round magazines.
I have three friends who have come across tweekers way back in the woods. Two of them needed a change of britches. One was a total anti-gun liberal which changed in to a EVERYDAY/ALLDAY CARRY GUY.
They were very lucky guns were not needed to get the hell out of Dodge.
The only person I kmow personally that had a bear encounter goes bow hunting for Elk over by Mt. Adams.
He hikes in a couple of miles and will hunt deeper back in the woods.
He has always borrowed one of my Ruger 44 magnum revolvers to carry back in the woods.
Two years ago he didn-t borrow a side arm.
He was set up and waiting when he heard a strange noise which wasn't that far away.
It turned out to be a small black bear cub which was making it's way towards him.
It finely got close and seen him standing there and headed to him to check him out.
It didn't take the mama bear long to come and investigate. When the mother bears registered what was going on she became agitated and started huffing, sucking in large amoutsof are winding him and really acting aggressive.
She did a fake charge, stopped and went through the snouting, pawing the ground and charged again and stopped about thirty-five feet away. The little cub ran and climbed a tree. After a couple mintes of sucking in ait, tearing up some real estate and accesing him she went to the tree the cub climbed up. Be sliwly kept backing up away from her when she was focused on the cub. After about twenty minutes he made some good distence from the mother & cub bear.
When he got home the following payday he went out and bought himself a 44 magnum rebolver.
He hss been bow hunying for elk for twenty-five years with out any problems, the one time he went unarmed he should of had a back up.
Tweeker incidents are on the rise, we have some very serious predators out in the woods depending on where you go.
Grizzly bears, black bears, cougars and wolves.
Cougar attacks are becoming more popular.
It can be deadly out there if you are unaware of what's taking place and are under armed for the situation.
For the cost of a right sized sidearm and proper ammunition is eell worth in inverstment. You can equip yourself for under $700.
Sell one of your less used firearms to buy a side arm, trade one in or just put a reliable handgun on lay-away for your back woods handgun.
Your life might depend upon it one of these days.
